Isotopic analysis of wetland development in the American Southwest

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12265239
AutoresThomas A Minckley (0000-0002-6483-013X, University of Wyoming, autor de correspondencia), Mark T Clementz (0000-0002-3886-6446, University of Wyoming), Andrea Brunelle (0000-0001-6552-0056, University of Utah), Grace A Klopfenstein (University of Wyoming)
Año2009
Volumen19
Número5
Páginas737-745
Fecha de publicación2009-07-15
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Holocene (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0959-6836 • E-ISSN: 1477-0911
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0959683609105297
OpenAlexW2044206748
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas45

The analysis of stable isotope and elemental fractions of organic material collected from San Bernardino Ciénega was used to understand the history of vegetation composition and climate change within this desert wetland. A 4000-yr record of sediment buildup, based on four 14 C measurements, provides unique opportunities for the study of environmental conditions within an arid landscape and documents climate shifts from drier to wetter conditions in the late Holocene. δ 13 C, δ 15 N, and C:N values were measured from a 3.8 m deep sedimentary section to understand the dynamics of vegetation and hydrology in desert wetlands. Through this section we observe δ 13 C and C:N values indicating a shift in the dominant source of organic matter within the section: prior to 850 cal. yr BP (below 60 cm), aquatic vascular plants and occasionally terrestrial vegetation were the primary organic sources, whereas freshwater algae were the dominant organic matter source above this level. These values indicate that while conditions remained arid at this locality, the amount of standing water on the ciénega has increased over time. These results document both climate change and vegetation evolution on the ecotone of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts and demonstrate how the study of local sediment accumulation in ciénegas can provide critical information on changing conditions within arid environments

Arid · Climate change · Ecotone · Environmental change · Geography · Holocene · Hydrology (agriculture · Organic matter · Physical geography · Sediment · Vegetation (pathology · Wetland · Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies · Environmental Science · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics · Ecology · Geology · Oceanography · Paleontology